Moto X AMOLED handset takes the cake for handset quality

Moto X AMOLED handset takes the cake for handset quality

Michelle Clancy | 16-10-2013

Mobile displays are increasingly being used to view video, and as such, are getting better and better. ABI Research reports the display found in the Moto X from Motorola Mobility has the best performance observed in a mobile display to date.

The Moto X is the latest offering from Motorola Mobility, and one of the first since being purchased by Google. The phone features a unique always-on voice command system that has drawn a lot of attention, but ABI said that it's Moto X's AMOLED display is what really sets it apart. It draws just 92mA during bright conditions and 68mA when dim — meaning that watching streaming video is less likely to drain a device's battery than other entrants.

Battery life has long since been dictated by display technology — the display current could be as high as 700mA under bright conditions just a few years ago. LCD based displays have been evolving too, but aren't quite matching the AMOLED displays' performance.

"This level of performance is so significantly improved that other factors are more likely to govern battery life now," said Jim Mielke, vice president of engineering at ABI Research. "Automatic dimming and short idle periods before turning off the display will be less crucial and may even be features that fade away from all handsets soon."

To boot, OLED technologies of any stripe use a higher-contrast colour palette than other panels, with deeper blacks that really make video pop.

However, Moto may not reign supreme for long: Samsung, the largest handset manufacturer in the world, has been a top AMOLED advocate, and is both the largest manufacturer and customer of AMOLED displays for the past three years, ABI noted.